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O n a Venice street at night, Iago tells Roderigo that Othello, the Moorish general of the Venetian army, has eloped with Roderigo's beloved Desdemona, daughter of Brabantio. Iago reassures Roderigo that he hates Othello because he made Michael Cassio his lieutenant while Iago remains the general's ensign, a position of lower rank. Iago and Roderigo wake Brabantio and tell him of Desdemona's flight. Brabantio storms off with officers to apprehend Othello. Brabantio arrives at Othello's lodging at the same time as messengers who request the general's presence before the Duke on state matters. The enraged Brabantio demands justice against Othello, and they depart to have audience with the Duke. The Duke and members of the Senate discuss news that the Turks have launched a fleet to attack Venetian controlled Cyprus. Brabantio accuses Othello of using witchcraft to ensnare his daughter. Othello describes their courtship; Desdemona is sent for and confirms that she freely gave her heart to Othello. Brabantio, saddened, accepts her decision. The Duke sends Othello to defend Cyprus, and Desdemona asks to accompany Othello on his campaign. Othello entrusts her care to Iago and his wife, Emilia. As Roderigo despairs over the loss of Desdemona, Iago advises him to follow her to Cyprus, promising that her love for Othello will not last long. Iago plots to poison Othello's marriage with jealousy because of his mere suspicion that Emilia has been unfaithful with Othello. A storm off the coast of Cyprus destroys the Turkish fleet, ending the attack. The Venetians' ships are delayed by the storm but arrive safely. Iago pulls Roderigo aside and tells him that Desdemona is in love with Cassio. He convinces Roderigo to start a fight with Cassio that evening to discredit his rival. During the celebration of the defeat of the Turks, Iago gets Cassio drunk and Roderigo attacks him. Montano, an official in

Cyprus, is wounded by Cassio when he intervenes.

Othello enters and demands to know who began the

fray. Pretending reluctance, Iago blames Cassio for the violence. Othello dismisses Cassio as his lieutenant. Iago advises Cassio to plead his case to Desdemona who will be able to convince Othello to reinstate him, though Iago plans to make Othello think Desdemona pleads out of love for Cassio. Emilia and Desdemona listen to Cassio's suit. Cassio departs abruptly at the sight of Othello and Iago, which Iago hints is cause for suspicion. Desdemona entreats Othello to reconcile with Cassio. After she leaves, Iago continues to plant seeds of doubt in Othello's mind about Desdemona and his former lieutenant. Othello demands proof of his wife's infidelity. Emilia finds Desdemona's handkerchief and gives it to Iago, who plans to leave the token in Cassio's lodging. Iago then tells Othello that he heard Cassio declaring his love for Desdemona in his sleep. Convinced of her guilt, Othello flies into a rage and asks Iago to kill Cassio. Iago agrees, and Othello makes Iago his lieutenant.Desdemona is unable to produce the handkerchief when the angry Othello demands to see it. Later, Cassio meets Bianca, his courtesan lover, and asks her to copy the embroidery of a handkerchief he found in his room. Iago tells Othello that Cassio has confessed to infidelity with Desdemona. Othello, overcome with passion, falls into a trance. Iago agrees to question Cassio about Desdemona while Othello observes from a distance. Iago asks Cassio about Bianca, and Othello hears only Cassio's smug laughter. Bianca arrives and returns the handkerchief to Cassio; Othello recognizes the token then reaffirms his desire to see both Desdemona and Cassio dead. Lodovico arrives with letters calling Othello back to Venice and promoting Cassio to Othello's position. Desdemona speaks well of Cassio and Othello strikes her. Othello questions Emilia about Desdemona's fidelity; Emilia insists that Desdemona is chaste. Othello refuses to believe her and calls Desdemona a whore. Roderigo seeks out Iago in desperation and Iago convinces him that he will win Desdemona if he kills Cassio tonight. Othello orders Desdemona to prepare for bed and dismiss Emilia; Desdemona obeys. Roderigo ambushes Cassio, and Cassio injures him. Iago stabs Cassio in the leg and flees. While Lodovico and Gratiano tend to Cassio, Iago returns and kills Roderigo. Iago sends Emilia to alert Othello. Othello enters the sleeping Desdemona's chamber. She wakes to his accusations of infidelity. She denies the charge and pleads for her life. Othello smothers her and Emilia enters to discover her murdered mistress. Hearing Emilia's cries for help, Montano, Gratiano and Iago enter the chamber. Othello cites the handkerchief as evidence of Desdemona's wrongs and Emilia reveals Iago's lies. Iago kills his wife and flees, but is captured and returned to the room with the injured Cassio. Othello wounds Iago, then asks for Cassio's forgiveness. Iago is turned over to the state for torture. Asking the statesmen to report his tragic story justly, Othello stabs himself and dies upon the bed of his wife.10Synopsis ofOthello

Orson Welles as Othello and Suzanne Cloutier as

Desdemona in a film version of

Othello (1952).

The Geography ofOthello11I

n the full title of his tragedy, Othello, The Moor of Venice, Shakespeare announces his title character's race

and place. Why are these two things so important? The action of the play occurs in two distinct geographic

areas, the city of Venice and the island of Cypress. In addition, the play refers to two types of outsiders: a "Moor"

and a "Turk." Shakespeare uses the common knowledge, opinions and prejudices of his Jacobean audience to

set the stage for this play.The highlighted sections of this map, circa 1819, show the former possessions of the Venetian Republic.

The island of Cyprus is on the far right."What tell'st thou me of robbing? This is

Venice"

Venice stretches across numerous small islands in a marshy lagoon along the Adriatic Sea in northeast Italy. The saltwater lagoon stretches along the shoreline between the mouths of the Po River in the south and the Piave River in the north. The Republic of Venice (8501797 CE), was a major sea power and a staging area for the Crusades, as well as a very important center of art and commerce, especially the spice trade, in the Renaissance. Venice, a dependency of the Byzantine Empire (631 -1204 CE), had established its independence as early as the 9th century CE. Venice was labeled the "Virgin City" since it was so successful at preventing invasion or outside control. In the High Middle Ages, Venice became extremely wealthy through its control of trade in southwest Asia, and began to expand into the

Adriatic Sea and beyond. Venice became an imperialpower following the 4th Crusade, which seized

Constantinople in 1204. As a result of the partition of the Byzantine Empire which followed, Venice gained a great deal of territory in the Aegean Sea. Later, in

1489, the island of Cyprus, previously a crusader state,

was annexed to Venice. In the early 15th century, the Venetians also began to expand in Italy. By 1410, Venice had taken over most of Venetia, including such important cities as Verona and Padua. The Venetians also came into conflict with the Popes over control of the Romagna. This led in 1508 to the League of Cambrai against Venice, in which the Pope, the King of France, the Holy Roman Emperor and the King of Aragon came together to despoil the republic.

However, the coalition soon fell out among

themselves, and Venice found itself without serious territorial loss. At the same time, the expansion of the

Ottoman Turks in the Eastern Mediterranean proved

threatening to the Venetians. The Turks ultimately conquered Cypress by 1571.

12To the English, who traveled there to study and

trade, Venice was a place of wealth and violence, culture and treachery. To Shakespeare's audience, Venice had a dual reputation for justice and good government as well as leisure, sinful pleasure and sexual liberty. Brabantio's scene with the council would have completely confirmed the audience's understanding of Venice's stable and balanced government. They would have also been aware that a powerful merchant ruling class controlled Venice. The English generally considered the merchants of Venice as greedy and corrupt. To these merchants, war was regarded as a continuation of commerce, however, they would never send their own sons to serve in the military. The audience accepted Othello's high status, since Venice was known to contract large numbers of mercenaries and civic leadership was tied to military service. Successful foreign commanders, like Othello, were promoted and highly regarded. Though the people of Venice generally remained orthodox Roman Catholics, the state of Venice was noted for its freedom and was not easily controlled by religion. Therefore, to the rest of

Europe, Venice was decadent. Shakespeare's

audience knew Venice was called the Virgin City, but the label was a bit of a joke since prostitution was rampant and it was renowned for its loose wives and violently jealous husbands. "When we consider the importancy of

Cyprus..."

The Greek goddess of love and beauty, Aphrodite, claimed Cyprus for herself and it is believed that travelers throughout antiquity made pilgrimages to Cyprus for her blessings. Geographically, Cyprus is in

Western Asia near Turkey. But politically andculturally, it is considered part of Europe. Historically,

Cyprus has been a bridgehead between Europe and

Asia. After the division of the Roman Empire into eastern and western halves, Cyprus came under the rule of Byzantium. The island was conquered during the 3rd Crusade. King Richard I of England then sold it to the Knights Templar, who in turn sold it to King Guy of Jerusalem in 1192 after the failure of Richard's crusade.

Caterina Cornaro was Queen of Cyprus from 1474

1489. Daughter of an old Venetian family, she

married James II of Cyprus in 1473. James died soon after the wedding, and she became Queen when their infant son James died in 1474. Around 1470, Venice began to attack the island, forcing the Queen of Cyprus to will the Island to Venice. It became a colony of Venice until 1570, when the Turks first occupied the island. Lala Mustafa Pasha became the first Turkish Governor of Cyprus, challenging the claims of Venice. Rhodes is the largest of the Dodecanese islands, and easternmost of the major islands of Greece in the Aegean Sea. It lies approximately 11 miles west of Turkey, situated between the Greek mainland and the island of Cyprus. Historically, it was known for its Colossus of Rhodes, one of the Seven Wonders of the

World.

Shakespeare moves his characters and plot to Cyprus to put them on the edge of civilization and Christendom. The island was tied to Venice in terms of trade, but it was also isolated and far away from the rule and order of the city. Cyprus is also much closer to Turkey than it is to Italy and to a Jacobean

Modernday detail map of Cyprus.

audience less civilized. Iago's plot and chaos would not plausibly succeed in Venice. Placing the characters on Aphrodite's island makes them more susceptible to eroticism. Shakespeare's relocation automatically makes the play more sensual, lusty and dangerous. "Are we turned Turks...?" Turks are any of various peoples whose members speak languages in the Turkic family of languages. These people, currently 150 million in population, are probably the diverse descendants of large groups of tribespeople who originated in Central Asia. The Ottoman Empire was a vast state founded in the late

13th century by Turkish tribes in Asia Minor. Modern

Turkey formed only part of the empire, but the terms "Turkey" and "Ottoman Empire" were often used interchangeably. The Ottoman state began as one of many small Turkish states that emerged in Asia Minor during the breakdown of the empire of the Seljuk Turks. The Ottoman Turks absorbed the other states, and during the reign of Muhammad II (1451-81) they ended all other local Turkish dynasties. The early phase of Ottoman expansion took place under Osman I, Orkhan, Murad I and Beyazid I at the expense of the Byzantine Empire, Bulgaria and

Serbia. Within a century the Ottomans had changed

from a nomadic horde to the heirs of the most ancient surviving empire of Europe. Their success was due partly to the weakness and disunity of their adversaries, and partly to their excellent and far superior military organization. The Jacobeans would have found the Turks as threatening as the Venetians did inOthello. This was recent history for Shakespeare's audience. The Ottoman Empire reached its peak between 1520

1566 and in 1529 they attacked Vienna. If the Turks

could attack Vienna and succeed, they could attack other Christian and European cities - like London. The Turks fostered great anxiety and fear in Western Europe. They were aggressive in expanding their empire and intolerant and cruel towards the people they conquered. In Shakespeare's play, the Venetians have Othello, a fierce and converted mercenary, to fight the fearsome foe in Cyprus. "I hate the Moor" Moors describe the medieval Muslim inhabitants of the Iberian Peninsula and North Africa, whose culture is often called "Moorish." In CE 711, Moors invaded Christian tribes in Spain and eventually brought most of Spain and Portugal under Islamic rule in an eightyear campaign. The Moors attempted to move northeast across the Pyrenees Mountains but were defeated at the Battle of Tours in 732. The Moors ruled in Spain and Portugal, except for small

areas in the northwest, and in North Africa for severaldecades. Christian states based in the north and west

slowly extended their power over Spain. Galicia, León, Navarre, Aragon, Catalonia, Portugal and eventually Castile became Christian in the next several centuries. This period is known for the tolerant acceptance of Christians, Muslims and Jews living in the same territories. In 1212 a coalition of Christian kings drove the Muslims from Central Spain.

However the Moorish Kingdom of Granada thrived

for three more centuries. This kingdom is known in modern times for such architectural gems as the Alhambra. On January 2, 1492, the leader of the last Muslim stronghold in Granada surrendered to armies of a recently united Christian Spain. The remaining Muslims were forced to leave Spain or convert to Christianity. These descendants of the Muslims were named moriscos. The English would have considered any darkskinned and/or Muslim person (even if they converted to Christianity) a Moor. The title character is a noble Moor who commands a Venetian army in Cyprus. English literature of Shakespeare's time commonly depicted Moors and other darkskinned peoples as villains. A Jacobean audience would have considered Othello a fierce and frightening character. They would have no troublequotesdbs_dbs48.pdfusesText_48

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